Originally Posted by
Myosmith
My only complaint with Surly is that they use bar end shifters to keep the cost down. I don't have anything against bar end, but if you prefer brifters it is a fairly expensive upgrade that is standard on many competing bikes. That said, I think the Surley framesets are top notch.
That is not to keep the price down. That is because they are much more reliable. And, on a touring bike, reliability is most important. Plenty of very expensive custom touring bike builds use bar ends.